Moldova is a country that covers an area of about 33,700 km².
The terrain of Moldova is primarily a hilly plain interspersed with deep river
valleys. The average elevation is 147m above sea level. The Kodry Hills occupy
the central portion of Moldova, rising to a maximum elevation of about 430 m at
Mount Bălăneşti.

More than 3,000 rivers and streams traverse the country. The
two largest rivers are the Dniester and the Prut, both of which rise in the
Carpathian Mountains in Ukraine, to the north of Moldova. The Dniester, the
larger of the two rivers, flows through the eastern portion of Moldova in a
southeasterly direction. It forms part of the country’s border with Ukraine in
the northeast, cuts through Moldova’s interior, and meets the Ukrainian border
again in the southeast, where it reenters Ukraine and then empties into the
Black Sea. The Prut, a major tributary of the Danube River, forms Moldova’s
entire western border with Romania. At the extreme southern tip of Moldova, the
Prut joins the Danube, which flows eastward and empties into the Black Sea.
Other major rivers include the Yalpug, the Byk, and the Reut.